May is a month of transitions—graduates leaving RIT and transitioning to full-time work or graduate school, returning students transitioning into a summer job or co-op, and our soon-to-be Tigers transitioning from high school to RIT. But first, pat on the back—congratulations to you and your students for making it through this year!

Welcome to RIT! I am happy you found your way to Parent and Family Programs. You will begin to receive the Family Orientation Newsletter, with content specifically for parents of new RIT Tigers, next week. This weekly newsletter will outline all the ways to engage this summer and learn about RIT and how to support your student.

Keep an eye on the RIT Orientation website for details and calendars—more information will be added throughout the coming months.

The upcoming summer term will begin on May 14 and will be offered in in-person and online formats. Undergraduate and graduate students can take advantage of a 12-week session (May 14-Aug. 12) and two six-week sessions (May 14-June 27 and June 30-Aug. 12). Graduate students can enroll in a targeted seven-week session (May 14-July 7). The complete list of course offerings is available on the summer semester website.

The Imagine RIT Festival is our signature event showcasing our students' imaginative and inventive spirit. This year's festival featured a record number of exhibits. More than 30,000 people descended on campus to capture the creativity of thousands of students. You can relive the magic of this year's Imagine RIT through our YouTube Playlist and the fantastic photos of the students in action at Imagine RIT.

Your student has earned an RIT undergraduate degree and built a resume full of creative and innovative experiences. Now is the perfect time to add a master’s degree to their credentials. The RIT Master Plan includes a special scholarship covering 40% of graduate tuition for qualifying master’s degrees. With 65+ graduate degrees in everything from the arts and design, business, computing, engineering, science, health sciences, and the liberal arts, your student has their choice of exciting programs. RIT graduates from December 2014 or later who begin a master’s degree program by fall 2025 are eligible. For more information, please visit The RIT Master Plan.

Graduation can be an exciting and stressful time for students who are answering the question “What are you doing after graduation?” Some students are proud to say they have plans of employment, graduate school, military, etc. Other students have leads but haven’t made a decision yet. There are also students who focused on getting to graduation and haven’t put much thought into what happens next.

The Office of Career Services and Cooperative Education is here to help. Career Services Coordinators are available to assist graduates with post-graduation plans. Additionally, alumni have access to Career Connect, career fairs, webinars, Tigers Connect, and more. Students and alumni can make an appointment by logging in to their Career Connect account or by emailing careerservices@rit.edu.

Please encourage your graduate to fill out the First Destination Survey.

The survey captures information regarding their plans and lets us know if they are still looking for employment. Students who report that they are still looking are forwarded to their Career Services Coordinator for individual follow-up.

It is not unusual for young adults to move home with parents following graduating from college. While going home may not be everyone’s first choice, there are also many benefits to graduates and families, including saving money, exploring career options, having help around the house, and getting in some family time. After four or more years away, adjustments will have to be made for all parties. Here are a few suggestions for parents and grads from others who have gone through it:

If you are interested in purchasing photos, frames, class rings, or other commencement keepsakes for your graduate, please check out the Commencement Keepsakes section of the Commencement FAQs. A recording of Convocation will soon be available on the Commencement website.

It can be a very exciting time when you student/graduate receives their first-ever job offer! They will likely be most excited to see that salary line and might not realize that this is just the start of what they should look for in an offer. Not only are benefits a significant part of an offer, but some can also be negotiable, even when salary isn’t. 

Reminders and tips from an experienced parent are helpful, but you may even want to sit down and talk through the full job offer with your student to help them understand what it all means. Basic benefits packages often include health insurance, vacation and sick time, and retirement plans, but remind your student to also pay attention to benefits like:

In addition, job seekers should pay attention to aspects of the job that will impact their living experience. Here are some questions to consider:

Considering all these factors, as well as the salary, play a huge factor in the next step, which is salary negotiation. Your student can find tips, including a sample script, for salary negotiation on the Career Services website.

The College Restoration Program (CRP) is an intensive, one-semester academic intervention program for students facing academic suspension and probation. For many students, CRP is the chance to acquire the skills needed to be successful at RIT. As a parent, you hope that your student will not have any academic challenges, but if so, CRP might be an option.

CRP staff work with students to set and accomplish goals, increase self-esteem, manage daily living, self-advocate, and live a healthy and balanced life. CRP does this through two specialty courses: Academic Strategies and Motivation and Wellness. They also include weekly mentoring for additional skill development. In addition, students take up to ten credits recommended by their current department. Students must receive a referral from their academic program. For additional information, please visit the College Restoration Program website.

After grades have been recorded at the end of each semester, the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships reviews each student’s record for satisfactory academic progress (SAP). SAP is required for federal financial aid and is based on required minimums for a student’s semester GPA, cumulative GPA, and progress toward degree as well as a maximum timeframe to program completion. The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships will notify students via email if they are not meeting these requirements and what the impact would be on their eligibility for federal financial aid. Each student’s SAP status will also be viewable in their eServices account. For more information including descriptions of these academic measurements for federal financial aid eligibility, please visit the Satisfactory Academic Progress website.

If you are the parent of a graduate and no longer wish to receive the RIT Parent Newsletter, please unsubscribe using the link on the bottom of this email.

Each month, we ask parents to respond to our Parent Poll and provide feedback on a topic related to RIT, your student, and you. In April we asked who is typically your students first point of contact with academic concerns. Nearly half of you (44%) said professor; 23% said academic advisor and 20% said parent.

Please take a moment to answer our May question.

In case you don’t follow the Parent and Family Programs Facebook page, here’s what you missed: We are so proud of our student employees! Among other things, our student staff manage the office social media, creating fun and educational content to support our families. Watch this video to meet the students behind the scenes and hear their tips for parents. 

Huge congratulation to Courtney and Lilly, who just graduated and are heading out into the world. We will miss them so much!

Sincerely,

Chelsea Petree, Ph.D.
Director, Parent and Family Programs
Rochester Institute of Technology
parents@rit.edu

rit.edu/parents

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